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My Pond and A Winter Storm

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Steve E.
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« on: February 18, 2019, 06:41:20 am »

So Tuesday night after I finished writing in "Garbage Day" I noticed it was snowing outside.  Knowing that I might need to remove snow from the shade cover over the pond, I stayed up.  After about 3 inches had fallen it was time to wash off the snow from the cover.  Bundled up I headed out.  Straight stream in operation I sprayed from the edge towards the ridge line.  I have done this in the past and our snow fall usually lasts for maybe 2 hours.  Oh, yeah, one slight detail I forgot.  When I got out side I found a large tree branch had fallen over my fence from the green belt behind our home.  It had not hit the cover but was laying over the filter bays and in front of the pond and cover.  That made it a bit difficult to clear that side of the cover.

I went to work in earnest.  Cleared the one side okay.  Then on the other side that where access was partially blocked I worked from a bit farther out.  But I was removing snow accumulation.  Then I returned to the first side and cleared the new fallen stuff (read different word beginning with s).  I seemed that the snow was stopping so I headed back in to warm up.  Watched outside and it seemed it had stopped snowing.  Off to bed I went as it was 0245.

Along about 0430 we were awoken by a hugh crashing noise.  That was followed by large bangs and brilliant light flashes.  Electricity went out.  Rolled over and went back to sleep.  Woke up around 0600 and looked outside.  First thing I noticed was the pond cover had collapsed in on itself.  Must not have stopped snowing.  Sure enough there was 8 inches of very wet snow on the ground.  Plus it was very cold outside, like about 32 F.  Now I know that temperature does not compare to the ones folks back east were experiencing during the Polar Vortex last week but that is cold for our local area.

Turns out power is out for about 30,000 folks in our city alone.  Behind our home runs a massive electrical power loop.  This portion of the loop carries power for the city utility and P.G.E.  Fifteen poles over about a mile and a half had snapped just below the power lines.  Multiple streets in the city were blocked by downed trees or tree branches.  Our power was off for two days.  Other folks in town are still out as of this writing.  In our city that number is down to approximately 500.

Yesterday and today I spent some time cutting apart the fallen tree branches in our yard.  I have trimmed up all of the stuff I am able to safely.  The remaining stuff either hanging precariously, bound tightly in a strained position, or too big for my hand saw.  I considered renting a chainsaw, no luck there, or buying one.  Right spend $400 for a tool I am probably only going to use this one time.  I do have a call in to a trimmer who I have used before but it will be probably several weeks before he can come.  The work we need done is no even close to emergency work and he has to do those jobs first.  Like (first) trees that are blocking access to or have fallen on homes and punctured roofs, (second) trees and branches that are on homes but not broken thru the roof, (third) trees and branches that are none of the above.  So I will have done what I can and wait patiently for Walt to arrive on the scene.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will begin to load the trimmings into my small utility trailer.  Then I in a day or so I will start to haul them to the cities corporation yard for disposal.  They have a composting yard for green waste.  The city has also waived normal dumping fees for storm damage debris until the first part of March.  The line to drop of debris is about 2 miles long right now.  That is why I will wait a bit.  Or I will get there very early and maybe be close to if not first in line.

Since we have natural gas we were able to cook.  That plus wearing Under Armour base layers, using hand and toe warmer packs, plus sweatshirts enabled us to stay warm.  Plenty of blankets and quilts on the bed made for warm sleeping.  Although it was around 50 F when we got up.  Since the power was out, no hot water for showers.

Power is back on of course and we finally got internet access a day after the power came on so we are good to go.
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SimplyPam
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« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2019, 11:36:48 am »

That was quite the storm! As I read, I was wondering about your heat and was glad to hear that you all were able to stay bundled up and warm. Will it be much trouble to repair the cover over the pond?
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Steve E.
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« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2019, 11:21:12 pm »

Yes.  It is completely collapsed.  The pipes are bent and jammed into the connectors and will have to be cut apart.  Just a fun deal I can tell you.  It has been cold and/or rainy so I have not tried to take it apart yet.  It is not completely down in the pond.  Just smoosched straight down and is about 6 inches below the surface.  Luckily the fabric cover is not in a position where the koi can become trapped.
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